The 2018–19 NIFL Premiership (known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the NIFL Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, the 118th season of Irish league football overall, and the 6th season of the league operating as part of the Northern Ireland Football League.

Linfield were champions, winning the league for the 53rd time.

Summary

The season began on 4 August 2018 and concluded on 27 April 2019, with the play-offs for promotion/relegation and the Europa League then taking place in May 2019.

Crusaders were the defending champions from the previous season. However, they were unable to defend their title, finishing in fourth place. Linfield were the eventual champions, lifting the league title for the second time in three seasons, and stretching their record tally of title wins to 53 overall. The Blues were confirmed as the champions on 13 April 2019, following a 0–0 draw at home against the outgoing champions, Crusaders, which left Linfield 12 points clear at the top of the table, with only three games remaining and nine points left to play for.

For the second successive season, two clubs suffered relegation to the NIFL Championship. Newry City finished bottom of the table, and were relegated to the 2019–20 NIFL Championship after only one season in the top flight. Eleventh-placed Ards faced 2018–19 NIFL Championship runners-up, Carrick Rangers, in a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off. Carrick Rangers won the tie 3–1 on aggregate to secure promotion and relegate Ards. This brought an end to Ards' three-season stay in the top flight, and meant an immediate return to the Premiership for Carrick Rangers after only one season in the Championship.

Premiership champions Linfield entered the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, with the runners-up (Ballymena United) and the play-off winners (Cliftonville) entering the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League along with the 2018–19 Irish Cup winners, Crusaders. Linfield also qualified to take part in the newly introduced Champions Cup against the 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division champions, Dundalk.

Teams

Twelve teams competed in the 2018–19 NIFL Premiership, ten of which retained their Premiership status from the previous season. Ballinamallard United were relegated to the 2018–19 NIFL Championship after finishing bottom of the 2017–18 NIFL Premiership, and were replaced by Institute as winners of the 2017–18 NIFL Championship.

Carrick Rangers finished in the promotion-relegation play-off place, and lost their Premiership place after losing the play-off 6–3 on aggregate against Championship runners-up Newry City.

Stadia and locations

2018–19 NIFL Premiership is located in Northern Ireland
Locations of the 2018–19 NIFL Premiership teams
2018–19 NIFL Premiership is located in Greater Belfast
Locations of the Belfast-based 2018–19 NIFL Premiership teams
ClubStadiumLocationCapacity‡
ArdsBangor Fuels ArenaBangor1,895 (500 seated)
Ballymena UnitedThe ShowgroundsBallymena3,050 (2,280 seated)
CliftonvilleSolitudeBelfast2,530 (all seated)
ColeraineThe ShowgroundsColeraine2,496 (1,106 seated)
CrusadersSeaviewBelfast3,383 (all seated)
Dungannon SwiftsStangmore ParkDungannon5,000 (300 seated)
GlenavonMourneview ParkLurgan4,160 (4,000 seated)
GlentoranThe OvalBelfast6,054 (4,989 seated)
InstituteBrandywell StadiumDerry7,700 (2,900 seated)
LinfieldWindsor ParkBelfast18,614 (all seated)
Newry CityThe ShowgroundsNewry2,275 (1,080 seated)
Warrenpoint TownMilltownWarrenpoint1,280 (150 seated)

League table

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation
1Linfield (C)3826757727+5085Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2Ballymena United3824688347+3678Qualification for the Europa League preliminary round
3Glenavon38201087446+2870Qualification for the Europa League play-offs
4Crusaders38205136855+1365Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
5Cliftonville (O)38194157066+461Qualification for the Europa League play-offs
6Coleraine381511125955+456
7Glentoran381310155853+549Qualification for the Europa League play-offs
8Institute38135205072−2244
9Dungannon Swifts38119184465−2142
10Warrenpoint Town38109195179−2839
11Ards (R)3869233163−3227Qualification for the relegation play-offs
12Newry City (R)3865273168−3723Relegation to the NIFL Championship

Results

Home \ AwayARDBYMCLFCOLCRUDUNGLAGLTINSLINNEWWPT
Matches 1–22 During matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home and away). Home \ Away ARD BYM CLF COL CRU DUN GLA GLT INS LIN NEW WPT Ards — 1–2 1–3 0–0 0–1 2–2 0–2 0–2 0–1 2–1 4–0 1–1 Ballymena United 2–0 — 2–1 3–3 3–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 6–1 2–1 3–0 1–2 Cliftonville 3–1 3–2 — 1–2 1–5 5–1 4–2 1–0 3–0 1–1 3–1 3–1 Coleraine 1–0 2–2 1–2 — 1–0 2–1 1–4 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–1 3–0 Crusaders 4–2 2–2 3–2 0–3 — 1–0 3–0 3–0 3–2 0–2 1–0 3–1 Dungannon Swifts 0–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 3–2 — 1–1 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–2 Glenavon 3–1 4–0 0–2 4–0 3–2 2–1 — 1–1 3–3 0–1 2–0 1–1 Glentoran 4–0 0–1 1–2 2–2 2–2 2–1 1–2 — 2–1 0–1 4–1 3–1 Institute 1–0 1–2 6–4 1–2 1–4 0–0 1–4 3–3 — 1–4 1–0 2–0 Linfield 0–0 2–1 4–2 1–2 4–1 3–0 0–0 4–0 3–0 — 3–1 1–1 Newry City 2–0 1–2 1–0 1–1 0–3 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 — 1–1 Warrenpoint Town 1–0 1–6 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 2–4 1–1 0–1 0–5 2–2 — Source: Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.Matches 23–33 During matches 23–33 each team played every other team for the third time (either at home, or away). Home \ Away ARD BYM CLF COL CRU DUN GLA GLT INS LIN NEW WPT Ards — — — 1–2 2–2 — — — 0–3 0–2 3–1 0–1 Ballymena United 4–1 — 2–1 — — 2–2 — 0–2 — — 3–1 — Cliftonville 4–1 — — — — — 1–1 2–1 1–0 0–2 1–0 — Coleraine — 0–4 4–1 — — 1–2 1–1 2–0 — — — — Crusaders — 3–2 2–0 4–2 — — 1–1 — — 0–1 — — Dungannon Swifts 0–3 — 3–1 — 1–0 — — — — 0–5 2–1 4–3 Glenavon 2–0 0–2 — — — 1–0 — — 3–3 2–0 — 1–3 Glentoran 1–1 — — — 0–1 2–4 1–2 — — — 2–1 — Institute — 1–2 — 1–0 1–3 2–0 — 0–2 — — — — Linfield — 1–0 — 3–2 — — — 4–2 2–0 — — 4–0 Newry City — — — 1–4 0–1 — 0–1 — 1–2 0–1 — 0–2 Warrenpoint Town — 2–4 0–2 0–1 1–3 — — 0–5 4–0 — — — Source: Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.
Ards—1–21–30–00–12–20–20–20–12–14–01–1
Ballymena United2–0—2–13–33–01–12–12–16–12–13–01–2
Cliftonville3–13–2—1–21–55–14–21–03–01–13–13–1
Coleraine1–02–21–2—1–02–11–41–12–20–00–13–0
Crusaders4–22–23–20–3—1–03–03–03–20–21–03–1
Dungannon Swifts0–00–21–10–23–2—1–11–02–11–21–10–2
Glenavon3–14–00–24–03–22–1—1–13–30–12–01–1
Glentoran4–00–11–22–22–22–11–2—2–10–14–13–1
Institute1–01–26–41–21–40–01–43–3—1–41–02–0
Linfield0–02–14–21–24–13–00–04–03–0—3–11–1
Newry City2–01–21–01–10–32–11–21–10–20–2—1–1
Warrenpoint Town1–01–62–12–11–21–12–41–10–10–52–2—
Home \ AwayARDBYMCLFCOLCRUDUNGLAGLTINSLINNEWWPT
Ards———1–22–2———0–30–23–10–1
Ballymena United4–1—2–1——2–2—0–2——3–1—
Cliftonville4–1—————1–12–11–00–21–0—
Coleraine—0–44–1——1–21–12–0————
Crusaders—3–22–04–2——1–1——0–1——
Dungannon Swifts0–3—3–1—1–0————0–52–14–3
Glenavon2–00–2———1–0——3–32–0—1–3
Glentoran1–1———0–12–41–2———2–1—
Institute—1–2—1–01–32–0—0–2————
Linfield—1–0—3–2———4–22–0——4–0
Newry City———1–40–1—0–1—1–20–1—0–2
Warrenpoint Town—2–40–20–11–3——0–54–0———

Matches 34–38

During matches 34–38 each team will play every other team in their half of the table once. As this is the fourth time that teams play each other this season, home sides are chosen so that they will have played each other twice at home and twice away.

Home \ AwayBYMCLFCOLCRUGLALIN
Section A Home \ Away BYM CLF COL CRU GLA LIN Ballymena United — — 1–0 3–0 4–3 0–1 Cliftonville 1–1 — 4–2 2–0 — — Coleraine — — — 4–2 — 1–1 Crusaders — — — — — — Glenavon — 4–0 1–1 2–1 — — Linfield — 5–1 — 0–0 0–4 — Source: Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.Section B Home \ Away ARD DUN GLT INS NEW WPT Ards — 1–0 1–1 — — — Dungannon Swifts — — 1–2 2–1 — — Glentoran — — — 2–0 — 2–2 Institute 0–1 — — — 2–1 2–1 Newry City 3–0 0–1 0–2 — — — Warrenpoint Town 1–1 5–3 — — 2–4 — Source: Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Ballymena United——1–03–04–30–1
Cliftonville1–1—4–22–0——
Coleraine———4–2—1–1
Crusaders——————
Glenavon—4–01–12–1——
Linfield—5–1—0–00–4—
Home \ AwayARDDUNGLTINSNEWWPT
Ards—1–01–1———
Dungannon Swifts——1–22–1——
Glentoran———2–0—2–2
Institute0–1———2–12–1
Newry City3–00–10–2———
Warrenpoint Town1–15–3——2–4—

Play-offs

UEFA Europa League play-offs

Four of the teams (Crusaders qualified for the Europa League directly as 2018–19 Irish Cup winners) that finished in the play-off places (3rd–7th position) participated in the Europa League play-offs to decide which team would qualify for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League preliminary round. After victories over Coleraine and Glenavon in the semi-finals respectively, Cliftonville and Glentoran once again contested the final, with Cliftonville securing the last remaining place in next season's Europa League after a 2–0 win. This was a repeat of the 2016 and 2018 play-off finals, with Cliftonville winning 3–2 on both previous occasions.

Semi-finals

Glenavon (3rd)2 – 4Glentoran (7th)
Marron 45' Mitchell 54'Murray 27', 76' Allen 48' McDaid 55'
Cliftonville (5th)5 – 3 (a.e.t.)Coleraine (6th)
Gormley 34' McMenamin 76', 113' Curran 90+7' (pen.) Ives 92'McLaughlin 9', 28', 72'

Final

Cliftonville (5th)2 – 0 (a.e.t.)Glentoran (7th)
Gormley 105+1' McMenamin 119'

Cliftonville won the Europa League play-offs, and qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League preliminary round.

NIFL Premiership play-offs

Pre play-off

The 2018–19 NIFL Championship runners-up, Carrick Rangers, took part in a Championship promotion pre play-off match against the 3rd-placed team, Portadown, with Carrick Rangers given home advantage as the higher-ranked of the two clubs. Carrick Rangers won the match 2–0 and advanced to the two-legged play-off against the 11th-placed NIFL Premiership team, Ards, for the last remaining place in the 2019–20 NIFL Premiership. The pre play-off match was played on 30 April 2019.

Carrick Rangers (Ch. 2nd)2 – 0Portadown (Ch. 3rd)
McCallum 74' (o.g.) Nixon 90+2'

Play-off

The 11th-placed Premiership team, Ards, played a two-legged tie against the pre play-off winners, Carrick Rangers, with Ards given the advantage of playing the second leg at home as the Premiership club. Carrick Rangers won the tie 3–1 on aggregate to secure promotion to the 2019–20 NIFL Premiership, with Ards being relegated to the Championship. The matches took place on 3 May and 6 May 2019.

Carrick Rangers (Ch. 2nd)1 – 0Ards (Pr. 11th)
Smith 11'
Ards (Pr. 11th)1 – 2Carrick Rangers (Ch. 2nd)
Taylor 37'Surgenor 4' Strain 29'

Carrick Rangers won 3–1 on aggregate, and were promoted to the 2019–20 NIFL Premiership. Ards were relegated to the 2019–20 NIFL Championship.

Top goalscorers

RankScorerClubGoals
1Northern Ireland Joe GormleyCliftonville20
2Northern Ireland Michael McCruddenInstitute19
3Northern Ireland Andrew WaterworthLinfield17
4Northern Ireland Cathair FrielBallymena United16
5Northern Ireland Stephen MurrayGlenavon15
6Northern Ireland Paul HeatleyCrusaders14
7Northern Ireland Ryan CurranCliftonville13
Northern Ireland Robbie McDaidGlentoran13
9Northern Ireland Rory DonnellyCliftonville12
Northern Ireland Paul McElroyDungannon Swifts12
Northern Ireland Andrew MitchellGlenavon12

Attendances

#ClubAverage
1Linfield2,390
2Glentoran1,585
3Coleraine1,497
4Ballymena1,397
5Crusaders1,394
6Cliftonville1,234
7Glenavon1,200
8Newry City630
9Dungannon626
10Ards566
11Institute418
12Warrenpoint260

Source:

External links